Counting Blessings

I’ve been terrible with taking photos lately because I’ve been spending as much time as I possibly could enjoying the prescence of friends who have been kind enough to arrange farewell coffees/dinners/drinks with me.

A while back I was stressing so bad about logistics of moving that I hadn’t been able to just enjoy my last few weeks in the UK, but thankfully offers of practical help have been pouring in from Christian brothers & sisters in LA, making everything a lot easier to cope with. I don’t have everything sorted, but I have everything I need.

And when I announced that I was leaving soon, the number of private messages I received from friends wishing me well, arranging to meet etc. was beyond what I had ever dared to hope for.

In the past week, I literally do not remember having a single meal alone. The next sequence of (iPhone) pics & selfies will only offer a faint idea of all the love I’ve been showered with recently, but they will be enough for me to look back and reflect on with fondness forever.

^ Dim sum with the fam. #Obv. This is actually a slightly older photo though – taken in Birmingham. They came to London last week as well and we had dim sum then too, but I didn’t bother with more pics.

^ Dinners with (and cards from) brothers & sisters at Church. Two were individually arranged, and practically half my Church (Chinese service) showed up to my farewell dinner at Nandos. Thank you all so much!! I look forward to seeing you all again. We’ll definitely see each other again.

^ This was at a cosy Moroccan restaurant round the corner from my office that I’d walked past many a time but never entered. Oh my word, the food is incredible, plus very reasonably priced if you book an offer on OpenTable. And that green pudding? Pistachio Creme Brûlée. Heavenly. (The Margarita was way too strong & salty unfortunately, but my Bellini was lush.)

^ A truly American send off; my company prepping me for what’s to come, evidently. Not entirely sure I’m liking the copious amounts of beer & confectionary and the peanut butter biscuits (“Nutter Butter” in that small red tub with the yellow lid) were way too addictive. I can tell the US is not going to be good for my waistline.

^ Gifts from my company/team. Best. Job. Ever.

^ My family & friend came over for lunch, then in the evening my flatmate arranged for friends to come over & chill to say goodbye to me. Yes, he bought, prepped & cooked all the food and is without a doubt the best flatmate ever. I had to duck out early to take a bath and write this blog but that didn’t stop me from being super touched and grateful. Thank you Pay & thanks to all who came over!!

Not pictured: copious amounts of coffee, pizza, wine and all my love.

The past week or so has been nothing short of awesome. I am speechless with gratitude and have been so blessed I’ve lost count of the times I’ve felt it.

Thank you so much, everyone! I will miss you all dearly.

I’m going to cry on the plane now.
Thanks for making me feel both wonderful and awful at the same time…